Julie Haven is the epitome of a hard-working artist. Sharing her town between her hometown of Metro Detroit where she was born and raised and her new home in South Florida, Julie Haven has a very busy touring schedule. Julie Haven’s mercurial Piano Pop blends the style of Tori Amos' intricate piano work, the intensity of Alanis Morissette, the conviction of Fiona Apple, and a few other influential songwriters including Chantal Kreviazuk, PJ Harvey, and Sarah McLachlan, to make a unique sound of her own. Writing from her heart and her own personal experience, she allows her audience to personally connect with her music through her songs of love, heartbreak, personal growth, and self-discovery.
Julie Haven takes her listener on a journey through multiple themes of different emotional conviction with her single titled “See Me Cry”. “See Me Cry” is the perfect song for a listener to intertwine themselves with their feelings and get an honest canvas to emotionally paint their stories. Julie Haven’s vocal resonance was powerful and highly dynamic. The tone was so extravagant and texturized it really compelled us. Julie Haven is a memorable vocalist who doesn’t shy away from being extraordinary and out of the box. She isn’t someone you can compare to another artist so easily. In fact, her sound is quite individualistic. Listening to “See Me Cry” was like listening to a personal message written to somebody whose meaningful to Julie Haven. It felt so personable we were able to relate it to our own individual lives. Julie Haven gives us sultry and she gives us vulnerable. She goes back and forth while maintaining a good balance between the two. It was a nice sound to execute the theme of “See Me Cry” to its fullest extent.
Check out "See Me Cry" here and read more below in our exclusive interview!
Welcome, Julie Haven! In what ways have your transitions in locations from Metro Detroit and South Florida impacted your music?
Hi! Thank you so much for interviewing me!
Well in general I have always written pretty emotionally heavy songs. It’s my therapeutic way of processing emotions. The interesting thing about moving to Florida is that the music scene is a lot different here than in Detroit. People around here are just much happier. Probably because of the weather. That’s why I’m here! I’ve been more focused on cover gigs lately and raising money to release this music so I haven’t spent much time tapping into my creative side. But you are the first to know that I finally wrote a song the other day! It needs a bit of tweaking. But strangely enough it did not take the happier tole I expected lol. I guess you stick with what you know.
How would you describe the perfect setting for you to write a song? How do you get into the mood?
Hmm...the perfect setting...first and foremost I have to be completely alone. No distractions. I like a very quiet and peaceful environment. Depending on the time of day I may have a cup of coffee in my hand or some tea. Later in the evening it’s probably wine. But I think usually it’s during the early morning with coffee. That’s when I’m most open to the muse.
Getting in the mood is more about the necessity of releasing my feelings as opposed to “getting in the mood”. It hits me usually out of the blue like an itch. If I have to be somewhere it can be dangerous because if a song wants to come out it has to on it’s own terms. I usually have no say in the matter.
Let’s talk about “See Me Cry” ! what was the major theme behind this song?
The main theme behind this song is being in a relationship with someone who takes you for granted and really doesn’t care about you. They play mind games and make you feel crazy and you don’t know how to feel or if what you are feeling is right or wrong.
What emotion did you have to embody while creating “See Me Cry”? What was the most challenging aspect of it?
This song is actually quite a few years old. It was written at a time when I was in a very one-sided relationship; if you could even call it a relationship. It was all about him and his needs and I pretty much meant nothing to him unless he was lonely or bored. I was young and naive. I thought he would change. He never did. I became a crazy person and never knew if I was coming or going. And he would always say “I don’t want to see you cry”. So this song was a combination of anger and sadness put together.
I don’t think this song was challenging to write other than just feeling what I was feeling. This is the perfect example of the muse coming to me on it’s own terms. I had to be somewhere and right before I left the house this song wrote itself within a matter of minutes. I know a song is finished when I feel a huge sense of relief afterwards. I usually break down and bawl my eyes out. Then I know I got it out. That happened with this song. That was a little inconvenient having to fix my make-up before I left for the evening.
What’s next for you Julie Haven?
Next! Well I hit the road next week for a summer tour up to Michigan for a couple of months. It will be nice to reconnect with my family and friends up there and play some shows at the venues I love. Then I have a second single being released on July 12th called “Love and War”. I’m very excited. I love that song. Then on August 16th I have a 4 song EP coming out including these two songs. Later in the year or early next year I have a full length album being released as well. So lot’s of fun things ahead!
Stay connected with Julie Haven through her socials!
www.instagram.com/juliehaven
www.faceebook.com/juliehaven